Millions of young and old wear diapers every day. For both of these groups, checking for wetness may require relying on others. In the case of adult patients who are wearing a diaper due to a medical condition or life situation, an unnoticed wet diaper can become a health risk to the occupant in some circumstances. Diaper rash and skin ulcers are just two possible medical conditions that may result from prolonged exposure to wetness. For both the health risk to the patient and the possible monetary liability for the health care provider, processes and procedures for enhanced diaper monitoring are desirable.
In some places, standard monitoring procedures for adult patients requiring the use of a diaper is to monitor the patient for incontinence at least once every four hours. If the patient is unable to communicate the state of the diaper on their own, a physical check of the diaper is required by the caregiver. Physically turning the patient is commonly required in order to make a satisfactory physical check. This can pose a health risk to the nurse or work staff, and, for heavier patients, additional personnel or even a mechanical lifting device may be required. Eliminating this time consuming and undignified procedure, by interrogating the state of the diaper without performing a physical check, would be highly desirable.
Others have proposed wetness sensors for use in diapers. See, for example, U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2008/0300559 (Gustafson et al.). See also U.S. Patent Application Publications US 2004/0064114 (David et al.), US 2004/0070510 (Zhang et al.), US 2005/0156744 (Pires), US 2006/0058745 (Pires), US 2007/0083174 (Ales, III et al.), US 2008/0132859 (Pires), and US 2008/0266123 (Ales et al.), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,373,395 (Kimsey), U.S. Pat. No. 6,583,722 (Jeutter et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,603,403 (Jeutter et al.), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,774,800 (Friedman et al.). Nevertheless, the widespread use of wetness sensors in diapers—and other applications—has yet to be realized.